


Queer

by AutisticWriter



Series: Alphabet Fics [17]
Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Autism, Autism Spectrum, Autistic Bito "Beat" Daisukenijou, Autistic Sakuraba Neku, Awkward Conversations, Bisexual Male Character, Confusion, Embarrassment, Ficlet, Fluff, Hugs, M/M, Queer Character, Queer Themes, Silly, Stimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2019-07-19
Packaged: 2020-07-08 19:13:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19874662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutisticWriter/pseuds/AutisticWriter
Summary: In which Beat wonders what his identity is now he’s dating a guy for the first time, and Neku finds himself schooling his boyfriend on the use of labels.





	Queer

“Hey, Phones?”

From his position under the kotatsu, Neku takes his eyes from the TV with reluctance and turns his head. He finds Beat stood beside him, nibbling on his bottom lip and a confused frown knitting his eyebrows together.

“Can I ask you somethin’?”

“Go ahead,” Neku says.

Still biting his lip, Beat drops to his knees before toppling back onto his ass. Neku watches Beat make a right meal of getting his legs under the kotatsu, the angle he sits at making his feet dig into Neku’s knees.

“So… are you gonna ask me or not?”

“Oh yeah!” Beat says. Did he seriously forget? “It’s just… what are ya?”

Neku blinks. “Might need to be a _bit_ more specific there, man.”

Beat gives an awkward chuckle, reaching up and tugging his hat further down his forehead. “Uh… meant… ya know… your… orieteer-thing.”

For a long, long second, Neku stares at Beat. The incredibly stupid but endearing Beat. “Do you mean ‘orientation’?”

Beat goes red, his cheeks flushing. “Um… yeah, prob’ly.”

“Okay. So… about your question,” Neku says, still running Beat’s words over in his mind. He clears his throat. “Are you trying to ask me if I’m gay?”

Somehow, Beat goes even redder. But he grins and nods whilst his face burns, and says, “Yeah! So, you gay, Phones?”

“Why has it taken you this long into our relationship to even ask that?” Neku says, desperately resisting the urge to laugh.

Beat stares at the TV, eyes focused on the screen but not the show, and his ears go as red as his face. “Hey, shaddup! I just… never really thought ‘bout it. So… are ya gay?”

“I’m bi,” Neku says, now shaking with the effort of holding back laughter. He wants to add how he has never hidden his attraction to girls so how the hell did Beat think he only likes guys, but keeping his mouth shut.

“Oh…” is all Beat says.

“So, why the hell’d you bring this up all of a sudden?” Neku asks.

Beat clears his throat, eyes still fixed on the TV. “Uh… before I met ya, I thought I was straight. I like girls – and you, Phones.” His hands go back to his hat, fingers stroking the rough wool. “’M I bi too?”

Seriously, how did he get into this conversation? Neku knows he is socially awkward, but upon seeing his boyfriend so flustered, Neku realises that Beat has zero social skills too. “Um, yeah, probably. But there are other labels you can try too, like polysexual or pansexual.”

“Pan… sexual?” Beat mumbles, before snorting with laughter.

“Uh, it means pan as in – never mind.” He gives up on his explanation, letting Beat giggle and smirking at how ridiculous yet kind of adorable this scene is.

Finally getting over his laughter, Beat crosses his arms. “Y’know, it’s kinda confusin’, eh, Phones?”

“Sure is,” Neku says. “It took me ages to learn I’m bi. But… it’s okay if you’re confused. And you don’t have to pick a specific label. If it’s easier, you can just be queer.”

“Queer?” Beat says, testing out the word. “Like people are always sayin’ at gay pride parades?”

“Uh huh. It’s been claimed for a long time. It’s our word, and lots of us identify with it. I sure do. And if you’re LGBTQ, you can use it too.”

“Queer,” he says again, and he grins. “Cool! That makes all this identity shit way easier to work out! Thanks, Neku!”

And as Beat grabs Neku and hugs him way too tight, the rare use of Neku’s name stands out. Neku smiles, glad he could help.

“But get the fuck off me before I suffocate!” he yells, trying to wriggle free – whilst Beat laughs hysterically.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want me to write you a short fic, drop in a prompt at my [personal prompt meme](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/AutisticWriters_Personal_Prompt_Meme)!
> 
> [My tumblr](https://anautisticwriter.tumblr.com/).


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